FIRING LINE: Fare is fair?

FIRING LINE: Fare is fair?

By Robert B. Roque Jr. l September 29, 2026

Monday came, and so did the shock inside pasa-mo-bayad ko rows in jeepneys, e-jeeps, and buses as public transport fares jumped across the board!

For ordinary jeepneys, fare is up from P13 to P14 for the first four kilometers; modern jeepneys to P17; Metro Manila ordinary buses to P15 and air-conditioned buses to P18; provincial buses up P1; TNVS base fares slapped with a flat P20 hike; and airport taxis from P75 to P115. 

All of these were approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), after much evasion by Malacañang and the Department of Transportation (DoTR) in the weeks past. 

The hike is scorching for everyday commuters, especially workers and students, who have to muster the extra cash amid punishing daily commutes marked by hellish traffic, humidity, heat, and Habagat rains that flood the streets.

Also adding to commuter woes were transport strikes led by Manibela and Piston, who have threatened to stop engines till tomorrow.

But let’s first be clear about why these fare hikes have become necessary just about now. It is the Mideast war, the US-Iran standoff, and a fractured global oil supply chain slamming into a country like the Philippines that produces no oil of its own and must ferry every drop across thousands of islands.

Honestly, we cannot blame oil firms for that, because at the end of the day – what we need them to do is ensure stability of supply. And they’ve got to bargain for that at whatever cost, so our various supply trucks keep rolling, businesses keep running, and shelves stay stocked. 

However, today’s P1 rollback, while welcome, does not spare oil firms from the criticism. Everyone notices how piecemeal that is, almost insulting, following last week’s P8-per-liter spike.

Nevertheless, Filipinos right now feel the frustration with inflation and a falling peso piercing family budgets and their lives. There is simply no refuge left from rising prices, from food to fuel, to services, and now, not even mobility is spared.

I guess this is why I think Manibela and Piston should not be tone-deaf to the mass situation. Paralyzing routes precisely when fares rise does not punish the government, but the very commuters who pay the price so they can get some semblance of relief. By grounding their fleets, all they do is make things worse not just for the general public, but their very own families.

Government, for its part, did try to hold the fare hike since March and finally released P2.5 billion in fuel subsidies before giving way to the unavoidable. Now it must move decisively: deploy emergency transport for stranded commuters and end the strike swiftly through dialogue, or through the LTFRB’s legal and franchise-enforcement muscle if dialogue fails.

The fare hike may provide some relief to drivers who can no longer make ends meet. Fair enough. But Malacañang cannot stop here. It must attack the other prices eating away at household budgets.

Because while we turn and toss over fuel and transport fare hikes, don’t look now — even the P2 pandesal has crept up to P5 apiece.

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